Mind training through yoga

How you think affects how you move. And how well you move affects how well you live. What is your mind filled with everyday. What does it say of you and your daily landscape? Is the inner dialogue positive? If not, can you change this? Yes, you can!

One of the blessings of yoga practice is that it often helps us realize just how much there is to learn about our mind and our conditioned patterns. Once a consistent yoga practice is established, often times it will affect your lifestyle. The practice is much like a mirror reflecting your ways of being; likes and dislikes your points of vulnerability and likewise your areas of wisdom. It can reveal all. It brings about an array of questioning. But simultaneously it shows how much power we have to sustain our health and wellbeing through self-observation and self-care techniques.

Cultivating a habit to watch our mind is a powerful way to foster change. My personal favorite is doing a daily check-in of whether I am content. Notice the moments in which an obstructive thought kicks in to disturb this contentment by introducing the feeling of judgement or dissatisfaction. The instant it does, look for that undercurrent of thinking, like soft whispering, that for example, what you have is not enough, that you are not worthy, that you should of done this or that, etc. Challenge the thought. Do I really need more? Is this a priority or value in the long run that nourish my soul?

Turn it around immediately. Think of all the ways in which you are lucky and blessed. Think of all the things you are grateful for and use those to drown out your desire and discontent. Reinforce this on your yoga mat.